The show goes on for local sports radio hosts

KKEA’s Gary Dickman, left, and Chris Hart did a live broadcast at the California Hotel in Las Vegas on Nov. 15 prior to to the Hawaii football team’s game at UNLV. They are among the local radio hosts working at home due to coronavirus concerns.

In the Hawaii Kai house that is serving as a radio studio, “Ri” is the sole broadcast guest.
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In the Hawaii Kai house that is serving as a radio studio, “Ri” is the sole broadcast guest.

“My dog is sitting with me right now on the couch,” Bobby Curran said of his 9-pound companion, who is mostly of Papillon heritage.

During this pandemic, Aio Media Group is promoting a social-distancing policy that has extended to its local sports talk shows. It is why the host of the Bobby Curran Show is working from his home. And it is why broadcast equipment is being installed in the home of Chris Hart, co-host of the afternoon “Sports Animals” show. Artie Wilson, who hosts a show every Friday morning, will be discussing topics remotely.

“Things keep changing with the coronavirus,” said Matt Apana, general manager of AM radio stations KKEA and KHKA, subsidiaries of Aio. “We continuously get updates from the leaders of our state, as well as Duane (Kurisu, Aio founder and chairman) and the rest of our leadership team at Aio. We wanted to follow the rules, and we want to lead by example. We feel it’s super important to live by the rules of social distancing.”

The changes began more than a week ago when Curran returned from California following a University of Hawaii basketball trip. KKEA holds the broadcast rights to UH sports. It was decided that Curran could host his show from his home while a board operator or producer worked in Aio’s new station in downtown Honolulu.

“Bobby was great about it,” Apana said. “We figured a way to make it work and do our broadcasts remotely from the personalities’ homes.”

Curran said a telephone land line is “hooked up to the same kind of equipment I use (for announcing) games. The board is still in the studio, like it always is.”

Curran said his headset is connected to the transmitting equipment attached to the land line. On his cell phone, he receives instructions on upcoming commercials and guests, as well as questions from listeners. There are copies of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and USA Today on one side of him; an iPad on the other side.

One benefit is Curran’s REM sleep is extended. “Instead of getting up at 3:15, I’m getting up at 4:30,” said Curran, whose weekday show starts at 6 a.m.

Adjustments have been made for Monday’s call-in show with football coach Todd Graham. Similar coaches’ shows usually are broadcast from Ruby Tuesday’s Moanalua restaurant. This time, Graham will answer questions from his home while Curran is in the studio. The studio has three rooms. Curran will be in one room, the board operator will be in another.

“With all the social distancing coming into play, it’s eliminating having two people sitting next to each other in the studio,” Apana said.

Adjustments are soon to be finalized for the Sports Animals. “We’re getting phone lines installed,” co-host Gary Dickman said. “It’ll basically be like a remote broadcast.”

Program director Josh Pacheco, host of a show at noon, is encouraging the programs to include news topics that go beyond sports.

“This is an opportunity for us to be more creative than we’ve been,” Pacheco said. “There’s sports stuff to talk about, but this is an opportunity to relate a little more. … The phrase I used is we’re a sports show that has a little bit more lifestyle in it.”

Dickman and Hart try to initiate discussions on sports topics but callers inevitably shift the conversations to the COVID-19 situation.

Dickman said his show now books two doctors as weekly guests. He also has introduced an alternative-world segment. “One of the things I’ve come up with is what would have happened in sports today,” Dickman said. “How LeBron missed some free throws the other day. The upsets in the NCAA Tournament.”

Pacheco said KKEA is airing “classic” NCAA basketball games. This weekend, there will be recasts from every game of the College Football Playoffs the past year.